The 118th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac returns July 16–17, 2027, with registration opening December 1. Race organizers also announced the new Whitehawk Division, honoring longtime competitor Peter Thornton as participation in the cruising fleet continues to grow.
This summer, PlanetSail founder and sailing journalist Matt Sheahan joined us in Chicago to experience the 2026 Race to Mackinac firsthand and share the story of the Mac Race with sailors around the world.
From the start off Chicago to 333 miles of offshore racing on Lake Michigan, the new film explores the scale, challenge, people and traditions that make the Race to Mackinac unlike any other offshore race.
The 117th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust once again demonstrated the scale and competitive depth that have established it as the largest annual offshore race in the world. The 333-mile course–spanning the length of Lake Michigan–challenged 250 teams with nearly the full spectrum of offshore sailing conditions, from upwind and downwind racing to heavy air, tactical light winds and powerful overnight thunderstorms.
All competitors are safe following a strong line of thunderstorms that swept across the fleet in northern Lake Michigan overnight during the 117th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust.
Sailors reported winds exceeding 35 knots as the storm moved through, with winds causing several teams to experience moderate damage, including one report of a broken rudder and another of a mast failure.
Peter Thornton’s 104-foot ketch, Whitehawk, claimed line honors for the fourth year in a row, finishing the 117th Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Presented by Wintrust at 3:31 p.m. ET / 2:31 p.m. CT on Sunday with an elapsed time of 1 day, 23 hours, 11 minutes.
It marks the fourth consecutive year that Whitehawk has been the first boat to complete the 333-statute-mile race from Chicago to Mackinac Island.
"The Race" is the documentary about the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac from start to finish, but more importantly, the actual experience of the race as told by the countless competitors turned "on board reporter" to help T2PTV Sailing on Demand tell the story of this 112-year-old race. The traditions, old and new, the challenge and the range of conditions explain why the families on board these boats are bonded by blood, sweat and joy.
Chicago, Ill. (July 21, 2021) – The Chicago Yacht Club’s 112th Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust was a slow race along its 289.4 nautical mile course from Chicago to Mackinac Island, with primarily upwind wind angles that saw the breeze going from decent at the starts to completely dead at some points near the Manitou Islands, offering windless holes that stranded some of the fleet’s 231 boats longer than others.
Welcome to the Chicago Yacht Club where the 112th Race to Mackinac began yesterday and the day before for both the racing and the cruising sections. Meet the commodore, the title sponsor, check out the scene at the Navy Pier for the grand send off and the starts of almost 240 boats and over 2,000 sailors as they say goodbye to the sight of shore for at least 24 hours.
The Race to Mackinac Chairman Martin Sandoval and the entire Chicago Yacht Club would like to take a moment to recognize and thank our incredible Race Committee volunteers who will be running the 112th Race to Mackinac. This event would not be possible without your dedication, professionalism, and commitment to on the water safety. Thank you for all you do, see you on the water!
Chicago, Ill. (July 13, 2021) – With 240 entrants, the Chicago Yacht Club’s Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust (CYCRTM) promises once again to be a spectacle worth taking in, as it returns to Lake Michigan and Lake Huron this week. Cruising and Performance Racing Divisions start the race at Chicago’s Navy Pier on Friday (July 16) and Saturday (July 17), respectively, with organizers suggesting the window of 10 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday as the best public viewing opportunity. In 10-minute intervals, starting at 11 a.m. and ending around 2:40 p.m., seventeen “sections” for ORC, One-Design, Multihull and Doublehanded boats will start their 289 nautical mile journey to Mackinac Island – an annual trek that, over more than 11 decades, has become the stuff of legend in sailboat racing. (Friday’s starts for three sections of cruising boats will run from 3-3:30 p.m.)
As part of an ongoing partnership with the Chicago Yacht Club, Wintrust returns as presenting sponsor of the globally-recognized offshore race, the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac®.
Chicago, Ill. (May 25, 2021) – The Chicago Yacht Club has officially announced that its ever-popular Race to Mackinac presented by Wintrust (CYCRTM) will return this summer after taking a hiatus in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Started in 1898, the race annually hosts over 3,000 sailors and covers 333 statute miles, starting from Chicago’s Navy Pier on Lake Michigan and finishing at Mackinac Island, Mich. on Lake Huron. The 112th edition starts Friday, July 16 for cruising sailboats and Saturday, July 17 for performance sailboats.
Racers,
2021 holds much promise for us as we plan for the 112th running of the greatest freshwater distance race in the world, the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac™ presented by Wintrust. As we take a pragmatic approach to our committee’s planning efforts, I look forward to racing with you in July!
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